COVID-19 and Employee Experience: How Leaders Can Seize the Moment | McKinsey & Co.

The return phase of the COVID-19 crisis is an optimal time for organizations to focus on creating a more impactful employee experience in response to workplace challenges. This article provides suggestions on how to positively impact the EE by focusing on meeting four prominent needs of the broader workforce. 1) safety and security 2) relationships – 3) culture, and 4) purpose. Aside from these primary needs, the article reinforces how organizations should take stock of the unique needs of different worker segments and individuals. Exhibit 3 shows the top employee needs (e.g. financial security, balance of work, and private life) and outcome drivers, grouped by five core EE themes. Exhibit 4 illustrates how that while all workers are experiencing some degree of disruption, the range of experiences is wide, from the very positive to the very negative. For example, of the population of fathers working at home, 79.4 % report positive work effectiveness and 70.5 % say they have a positive state of well-being. Conversely, of the group of employees working in non-remote positions with little workplace flexibility, 70.5 % report negative work effectiveness, and 57.6 % say they’re struggling. These and other insights can be used by organizations to develop both broad and targeted EE strategies.